This invention relates to a method for wet treatment of surfaces of parts and semi-processed articles for the manufacture of industrial or medical products and apparatus to perform the wet treatment method. The purpose of the wet treatment may be cleaning, etching or aftertreatment. The method and apparatus according to the invention is particularly useful for cleaning a silicon wafer for producing a semiconductor device or a dielectric film formed on the wafer.
In the manufacture of industrial or medical products, surface treatments of parts or semi-processed articles are made for various purposes such as cleaning, etching and aftertreatment. In many cases, conventional surface treatments are made by using solutions containing chlorine or another halogen or a chlorofluorohydrocarbon, acid solutions or alkaline solutions and in some cases by using gases containing a halogen or a chlorofluorohydrocarbon. In using such solutions or gases, great care must be taken to prevent environmental pollution, and safe disposal of waste solutions or gases entails heavy cost. Furthermore, in some cases, halogen compounds formed by chemical reactions during surface treatments create industrial waste that is difficult to dispose of.